Weatherfield
Coronation Street is set in the town of Weatherfield, which has been since 1974 part of the larger Metropolitan Borough of Weatherfield, a fictional local authority area in Greater Manchester and in the postcode area of M10. The town has its own newspaper - The Weatherfield Gazette - and its own General Hospital, while its successive councils have had more than one resident of Coronation Street elected to them - including at least three mayors. Streets around Weatherfield include Coronation Street, Rosamund Street, Viaduct Street, and Victoria Street. There have been many changes to Weatherfield in the years after the Second World War. In 1968 Missions, factories and terraced houses were being demolished to make way for blocks of maisonettes or flats. The docksides by the canal were converted into luxury apartments and named Weatherfield Quays. Background Granada is very strong on creating as authentic a background for the street as possible basing it on real Manchester data. All the telephone numbers begin 0161 and the River Irwell is said to run through Weatherfield. Weatherfield lies southwest of Manchester and has been a community since pre-Roman times. It was the site of a Roman fort and the area was called Paulium after Paulinus the fort commander. After the Romans left the population declined and the area became a quiet farming region known as Bellwether Field - the field of the belled ram. It was later abbreviated to Wetherfield and in the last 300 years or so, to Weatherfield. From the 1780s housing began to spread out over the fields and farms and new roads were built to link the town with Manchester City centre and in the 1830s the Great Northern Railway viaduct was built to run through Weatherfield carrying passengers and goods trains to Manchester's Liverpool Road station. Around this time, the population of the area had increased to about 50,000. In 1900, the oldest dwellings in the town, on the Roman road were demolished to make way for Rosamund Street (named after Rosa Hansbury) the new road to Manchester, with shops, housing and an infirmary. Included with this new development, was Coronation Street. Local shops and businesses The area has many local shops and businesses including: the Corner Shop, The Kabin, Audrey's, Underworld, Preston's Petals the Builder's Yard, Street Cars, Roy's Rolls, Prima Doner, For Your Fries Only, Weatherfield Building Society, Freshco and Weatherfield Garden Centre. Education Weatherfield has several educational facilities: Bessie Street School, Weatherfield High and the private Oakhill School. Restaurants Known restaurants include: The Viaduct Bistro, Speed Daal, Valandro's and The Royal Panda. Pubs Newton & Ridley is a brewery that was established in 1781 and during the 19th century it started constructing public houses for their beverages. There is a pub crawl called the Weatherfield 7. Pubs in Weatherfield include the Rovers Return Inn (although is now a free house but still sells Newton and Ridley), The Flying Horse, the Laughing Donkey, The Queens, the Weatherfield Arms ,White Swan and the Farrier's Arms. Health The main NHS facilities are located at Weatherfield General hospital and the Rosamund Street Medical Centre. From 2014 to 2016, a private gym known as V Court Fitness operated on Victoria Street. Category:English cities and towns, Category:Weatherfield